Shade
Shade, who keeps his real name a personal secret, is a professional gunslinger for hire, his loyalty goes to the highest bidder. He is currently in the employ of The Gentleman to hunt down Demons for study. Appearance Personality Shade is different from most hired killers, he doesn't exactly revile in his work, but still believes that it is his calling in life. To him, killing is just a means to an end, an end he has never once revealed to anyone, preferring to keep his reasons to himself. Over the years since he became a hitman, his secrecy has led many to mistrust him, which took its toll on his ability to trust others, leading to a recursive cycle where he refuses to give out any information about himself. Shade follows a strange code of ethics, some of which is inspired by mercenaries and Samurai: He only kills the person he was hired to, his services go to the highest bidder, except if he's already on a job, and his employer's secrets are kept that way. Destruction of property is also to be avoided if possible, to restrict the amount of casualties.However, any rule can be broken for one reason, if honoring those rules puts his teammates lives in jeopardy. Something that most people are unaware of is that Shade bears split-personalities, created to prevent him from falling apart under the weight of his guilt; Shade and the King of Death. Whereas Shade refuses to kill without a good reason, the King sees everyone as a target, pushing death tolls into the hundreds if not restrained. Other than being a killing machine, nothing more of this aspect of his character have been noted. Abilities Sharpshooting: Exactly what one would expect of him, reputation or not, Shade is a very skilled sharpshooter. He can have the gun drawn, cocked and fired within a matter of moments, bringing to bear the skills that made him famous as an assassin. He can hit with pinpoint accuracy the weak points of his targets, even at a distance most would consider impossible. Enhanced sight: Shade has an exceptionally over-developed sense of sight, for what reason is currently unknown. What is known of his sight is that it’s been growing stronger within the past few years, or possibly even months, based on a record, marked with distances, he carries around with him. Hand to Hand Combat: Shade has trained to be able to kill with his bare hands, as in some cases a gun is entirely worthless, a fact he fully understands, especially if he's trying to be stealthy. So, in order to shore up his one supposed vulnerability, he learned to fight at a close range. Coupled with the advantages his Golden Eye bestow upon him, he can quickly and effectively take down anyone without ever once firing off a round. Given the chance, he prefers non-lethal choke-hold assassinations, but can turn them into a broken neck if the situation calls for it. If he's caught in the thick of combat without weapons Shade proves more than capable. His favored moves at this point involve taking as many cheap shots and low blows as he possibly can get. Equipment Customized revolver: His personal side arm, this gun is a sign of his unwavering dedication to his task. Uniquely, compared to other revolvers, the chamber has seven rounds, compared to the usual five or six, the hammer is reinforced to handle the speed at which he fires and the grip is solid steel with wood covering. The barrel is made to exert the peak amount of force on each bullet, producing the most speed and impact forces to pierce Demon or Human skin with ease at twice the usual effective range of a typical gun of the same size. Custom rifle: Nicknamed the Black Wing, this is the gun he built from the ground up and is his favored weapon in both tactical and large scale confrontations. Although it is classified as a rifle by modern standards, Shade is quick to refute that, by pointing out some of the ways he improved the gun. Capabilities include; a three-round burst fire that can be swtiched to fully automatic, an attached grenade launcher, a flamethrower/shotgun attachment, a thermal window that comes off the side, as well as a nightvision scope. He himself has lampshaded the fact there may be more but no one has ever been clear on that aspect. Golden Eye: This eye serves as a replacement for Shade's destroyed right eye given to him by the Gentleman as part of their contract. With it, Shade has a myriad of advantages over any normal person. He can see a few seconds ahead and read someone's movements with perfect clarity. The eye also has what could best be described as an 'emotion sensor', allowing him to read someone's emotional state, or tell if they are lying to him, making it great for interrogations. Other functions include x-ray, infared, zooming and even limited video recording capabilities. Like most electronic devices, the eye runs on a very small battery. This battery can hold a charge indefinantly when Shade is using it as a normal eye, only draining to accomodate the alternate functions. The battery can be recharged slowly over time, using electrical impulses from the brain while in it's basic state. While recharging, the basic function of the eye is hindered somewhat while it diverts some of the electric impulse to the battery and the rest to the eye itself. Ka-Bar Knife: A "Standard-issue United States Army tactical knife." Shade carries around a Ka-Bar as a last means of weapon-based defense. Unlike all of his other known weaponry, the knife itself is unaltered in any way, except that its edge is honed to the point it can slice an android's arm with ease. Quotes A gun is unfeeling. If I carry one in my hand, does it understand the warmth emanating from my grip? Does it know what I will use it for? Could it know? The answer is it does not, and can not fathom my intent. I am alive, therefore my thoughts are mine. A gun lacks thought, lacks life. It is my weapon, I am the user. The gun does not kill unless I pull that trigger. Once the shot is fired, the gun is worthless without another round, which is likewise unfeeling, uncaring of the task at hand. I alone am the killer, who casts away his morals for the work he must do, that which he must do alone. No one else can truly dictate his action, my action. I decide how my life will play out, not you, not the gun, not my bullet, not my employer or subordinate, mother or father, brother or sister, teacher nor student. Only I am responsible to God for my sins, to the governments for my crimes Trivia Shade's theme song is Never Surrender by Combichrist.